From Ashes to Flames -Leo Valdez Love Story-
by fangirlextreme
Summary: A fifteen year old girl is very different from the rest. She has a secret. Her lineage is much different than an ordinary person's; it links mythology to reality. This girl is a daughter of a certain King of Olympus, and her name is Sara. Sara is a demigod, and she has a very different way of looking at things. Read more to find out! Thanks for reading, - author


From Ashes to Flames –PJATO FANFIC- Leo Valdez Love Story

Chapter one- Funny feelings lead to not-so-funny surprises.

I thought to myself 'Why is the survival test always so hard?' I grabbed something for a weapon, quietly walking towards the exit of the final exam. I spun around quickly, brandishing the solid iron bar I had found. There was a curtain moving and a slight breeze that passed. It was almost as if something had run behind me… but that can't be right. I tensed up my leg muscles and gripped the bar as tightly as I could; something bad was following me. Call it a hunch, but this old cave was my new least-favorite place.

In Camp Half-Blood, anything could happen, at any time or anywhere. This "test" was the last part of Chiron's training for me- I had to stay alive in a cave for 25 minutes, with only my wits and whatever I could find inside to help me. Chiron was the camp's 'director'; I guess you would call him that. The real director Dionysus finally went back to Olympus for a break, thank the gods. He had convinced my father, Zeus, to shorten his sentence to only 25 more years at camp, and he was gone for the winter solstice.

Gladly I walked into the sun, thinking I had finished. I was so lost in my thoughts, I momentarily forgot where I was- not good. I was suddenly dragged backwards into the darkness of the cave, thrashing wildly. I heard Chiron yell in surprise (I guess huge demon ants weren't supposed to come after you when you're done?) Skipping the (sadly) many embarrassing parts, let's just say I ended up in the infirmary tent for a couple days. My freshly broken arm was fixed up by my friends, Alex and Aidan, and I was sent back to my cabin to recover. I clambered onto my bunk, and fell asleep. My arm was still hurting, but that wasn't nearly as bad as the dream I had that night.

I was running across the base of the original Mount Olympus (in Greece) trying to get away from some Scythian _dracnae_, scary snake ladies with no legs. They slithered after me, and suddenly their leg trunk things got longer, and wrapped around my legs and body. I tried to wriggle free, but their grip was too tight. The ground began to shake, and a horrible laugh came from the earth. _"You can never defeat me, little girl." _More of the menacing laughter, and the snake legs coiled tighter around me. I began to turn, trying to get away. A _dracnae_ pulled out a sword, and charged. I tried to turn quicker, but the _dracnae _shoved the sword into my skull before I could scream.

_THUMPP. _I landed on the cabin floor, tangled in my sheets and my head throbbing. I rolled my eyes and checked the clock- 1:43 a.m. Great. I sighed, and stood up. My head was killing me, so I decided to sneak out. (Technically, we were supposed to be in bed by 11:00 p.m., but I didn't care. I was good at sneaking out.)

I moved my arm in my cast to loosen it up, and opened the cabin door quietly. Walking on tiptoe in my amazing hunting boots, I followed the sound of the ocean to Fireworks Beach. I sat down at the edge of the waves, listening and enjoying the quiet, the cool breeze of the night. "Having fun there?" I looked up, and saw one of my friends, Annabeth. I nodded, and she sat down beside me. "You ok?" she asked me. "What brings you out here so early?"

"I guess… my head hurts. I had a nightmare, and a _dracnae _stabbed me in the forehead." She looked troubled. "Oh…" Annabeth sighed. "I had a nightmare similar, it was like I was in Tartarus again… but Perc-" her voice cracked, and she continued, "Percy's dead body kept following me, telling me to give up." Annabeth hung her head. "And I wanted to." I hugged her with my good arm. "You know that Percy would never let you go. Not again." She nodded and sighed again. "It just seemed so real." "It's going to be fine. I just have a funny feeling about these dreams… should we tell Chiron?" I said, and raised my eyebrows. "I guess we-" Annabeth's voice was cut off by the shriek of one of the cleaning harpies, getting closer to the horizon. Annabeth and I took off running towards the Big House- Chiron has warned us more than once that they will eat us if we break the rules or something.

TIPS FROM SARA NUMBER ONE- NEVER HIRE A GREEK MONSTER DEMON BIRDY TO BE YOUR CLEANING LADY. THEY MAY EAT YOU IF THEY DON'T LIKE YOU.

We ran through the door, and threw our weight against it as the harpies slammed into the other side. We heard wailing, and then silence. Nothing. We slowly let go of the door, panting. Annabeth's sandy blonde hair was falling out of its usual ponytail, and my golden brown hair was in a rat's nest. I turned as I heard a _click clop _noise on the hardwood floors, and some soft Dean Martin music playing. I poked Annabeth, but it was too late to hide now. Chiron's huge white chest and legs, complete with hooves (yes, I did say hooves. My camp director is a centaur. Isn't yours?), stepped out into the hall, and I am able to say I was scared to look at his face, because I could tell he was angry. His tail curlers were swishing around behind him, and Annabeth wouldn't look at anything but the floor.

TIPS FROM SARA, NUMBER TWO- NEVER UPSET YOUR CAMP DIRECTOR IF HE HAS CURLERS IN HIS TAIL AND HE LISTENS TO DEAN MARTIN. HE CAN GET MEAN QUICK.

"Can I help you ladies at this hour, or am I interrupting your schedule?" he said, obviously annoyed at our… grand entrance. "Harpies are mean." I said without thinking, and he bent down to look at me. "They wouldn't be mean if you followed the rules, Sara." I blushed, and Annabeth began telling Chiron about our dreams.

"So anyway, we wanted to talk to you, and see what you thought. I don't know if it's any kind of sign or not, but I'm kind of worried about it." Annabeth finished, playing with her hair. "Hmm." Chiron sat down on the floor, which was weird to see. (Have you ever seen a horse sit down? It's so strange…) "I would consult the Oracle in the morning. Rachel will be back by 11:00 tomorrow morning, so I would ask her about what your dreams say. For now…" He said gravely, "I would sit tight. Stay together. And don't wander off alone." He stood, walking back to his room. I looked cautiously at Annabeth, and we walked back to Cabin One together, not wanting to be alone the rest of the night.

I sat on my bunk, patting next to me to offer Annabeth a seat. She took it with a soft smile, and I picked up the book closest to me and began to read. I don't know how much later it was, but Annabeth was passed out on my bunk, her arm near my hand. I smiled,


End file.
